I read once that you reach a certain age when the years go by very quickly, but the days are eternal.
I already reached that age.
No more charts, no more boring meetings, no more difficult bosses, no more progress reports; no more monthly payments… those, I miss.
But I am finally the owner of my precious time and, in my infinite days, full of adventures, I go for walks.
My new job is simply to pay attention. They say delight is the reward of paying attention.
I went out on my usual route but this time, I noticed something different.
The snow had melted, and it was hot. Yes, hot in March.
I took off my jacket, scarf, and gloves and noticed an unusual glow at the end of the path.
I detected a different vegetation on the horizon.
Palm trees? – I said to myself – In Calgary?
I swear I didn’t have a drop of alcohol in my system.
I quickened my pace. I stumbled. I got up. I felt an awful thirst.
I persisted. I finally reached the end of the path.
The glow came from a silver beach with white sands.
I plunged into the water.
I drank of this strange glow.
I rested on the sand, as radiant as the snow that had recently rested there.
I thought this was all a mirage.
But my hands were wet. My body covered with white sand.
My thirst, calmed.
No, it was not a mirage.
It was a poem.
I walked home, soaked in words, ready to write it.
I suspect I need a beach vacation after this long winter.